How do writing assignments and writing instruction further the learning objectives
of this course and how is writing integrated into the course? Note that the syllabus must
reflect the critical role that writing plays in the course.

New:
The writing assignments integrated into Math 4067 include Power Point (PPT) presentations, Executive Summaries and Email Memos. In these assignments students have to clearly present the problem to be addressed, document their research and analysis process, provide a rationale for their choice of model and its assumptions, show how those assumptions are supported by data, and lastly, communicate the key conclusions and recommendations surrounding the problem. These assignments are the vehicles that students will use to meet the core learning objectives of the course: (1) identifying, defining and solving problems, (2) locating and critically evaluating information and (3) communicating effectively.
Because effective communication is a core objective of the course it is ⿿hard-wired⿝ into the teaching materials throughout the entire semester using the three different types of writing assignments. They all enhance personal and oral communication skills by helping students learn how to communicate effectively with their teammates and instructors (through the email memos) and how to communicate their ideas to others who are not directly involved with their team (through the summary reports and presentations).

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Question 2 (see CWB Requirement 2):

What types of writing (e.g., research papers, problem sets, presentations,
technical documents, lab reports, essays, journaling etc.) will be assigned? Explain how these
assignments meet the requirement that writing be a significant part of the course work, including
details about multi-authored assignments, if any. Include the required length for each writing
assignment and demonstrate how the minimum word count (or its equivalent) for finished writing will
be met.

New:
⿢ Three Email Memos to Team Members - During all three modules students will writing a memo to the rest of their team and instructors on their specific assignment for the module. The Email Memo should be 1-2 pages long. To exemplify, support and/or further explain a point in the memo, students must attach supporting documents to their email such as graphs, Excel spreadsheets and other research documents. The Email Memo will be also submitted to the primary instructors for feedback, which will be used for revision. In addition, team members will benefit from each other⿿s feedback as a part of the communication process within the team.
⿢ Power Point Presentation - During at least one of the three modules student teams are required to do a PPT presentation, outlining the key elements of research, modeling, analysis and recommendations relating to the problem. Each presentation will be 15-20 minutes in length with 5 additional minutes for questions/answers.

Each student must participate in the written preparation of the slides as well as in the oral presentation. The team will be required to submit an outline of the PPT presentation, stating the main communication goal of each slide, and the person on the team assigned to develop the slide. The team will receive a collective grade for the presentation, which will be based on the overall quality of the presentation. In addition, each student will receive an individual grade based on her/his part. Grading criteria will be discussed in detail in class.
⿢ Executive Summary - Each team that does not present during a module must submit an Executive Summary that covers the main points of the research, analysis and final decision making / recommendation for the project. This should include the sources and reliability of data, working assumptions, financial model, analysis and results. The length of the Executive Summary should be no more than two pages.

Each student is expected to participate in writing the Executive Summary, being responsible for a well-defined part that reflects her/his work. The team will be required to submit an outline that includes information about the specific contribution of each student to the total document. The Executive Summary will be graded both collectively and individually. Grading criteria will be discussed in detail in class.

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Question 3 (see CWB Requirement 3):

How will students' final course grade depend on their writing performance?
What percentage of the course grade will depend on the quality and level of the student's writing
compared to the percentage of the grade that depends on the course content? Note that this information
must also be on the syllabus.

New:
50% of a student⿿s grade in all assignments will be based on the quantitative and analytical quality of their work and the other 50% will be based on the quality of the written and oral presentation (group and individual).

In each writing assignment students will be assessed based on various criteria (such as addressing the audience appropriately, presenting information in a concise manner, following the appropriate format, etc) that will be summarized in a grading rubric to be discussed in detail in class. Students will be provided with a ⿿good⿝ sample document to serve as an additional guidance and clarification of expectations.

Indicate which assignment(s) students will be required to revise and resubmit after
feedback from the instructor. Indicate who will be providing the feedback. Include an example of the
assignment instructions you are likely to use for this assignment or assignments.

New:
The Email Memo was selected to be the assignment which students must revise and resubmit based on feedback from their instructors for the following reasons:
⿢ It is a document that is written individually in each module so students can experience improvement within each module and over the entire semester.

⿢ It embodies all three learning objectives for the course:

⿿ Identifying, defining and solving problems ⿿ Writing an Email Memo requires students to put thought and effort into a comprehensive summary of their work. The final Memo should state clearly their work process from start to finish, and is especially useful while the work is still in progress. The Memo has to provide a description of the specific task and how it fits into the context of the entire project, the rationale that has guided the student in the research or analysis (this part should include the relevant information / data used) and finally the conclusions on their work to date.

⿿ Locating and critically evaluating information ⿿ In the Email Memo students are required to explain their choice of assumptions and articulate their decision making process based on information they have chosen to use.

⿿ Communicating effectively ⿿ The Email Memo needs to address a certain audience and present the information in a concise and clear manner. Communicating effectively via email memos is a critical skill for students to master since it is one of the most common communication forms they will encounter in most actuarial and business settings.
An example of instructions that will be given to students regarding how to write the Email Memo is outlined below:
You will be responsible for one or more aspects of work within your team on each of the three modules. During each module you must write an email memo explaining to your team a summary of the work you did and the importance it has to the overall module project. For instance if you are responsible for doing the research you will need to outline in the memo what research you found, cite the sources of that information, the key importance of the research and how it can be used as an input into the actuarial analysis and conclusions. You must attach files to your email memo to further exemplify a point you are making or as support to your analysis. Files can include details of the research, graphs, charts, Excel spreadsheet models and other information that reinforces the points you are making in the memo.

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Question 5 (see CWB Requirement 5):

What types of writing instruction will be experienced by students? How much class
time will be devoted to explicit writing instruction and at what points in the semester? What types of
writing support and resources will be provided to students?

New:
Formal writing instruction is integrated uniformly throughout the semester in plenary and interactive formats. It consists of specific writing instruction on email memos, PPT presentations and executive summaries. Students will work on writing assignments in class (schedule is outlined in attached Syllabus). Guest actuaries and co-instructors will be present during in-class writing sessions, reinforcing good writing technique during actual assignments.
Key components of the writing instruction:
⿢ In the first instructional session related to a specific document the relevant writing genre will be introduced and its importance as a means of communication within the specific business setting will be demonstrated. In particular, the purpose, the audience and the format of the document will be explained.

⿢ Once the students have been introduced to the specific genre and have started the writing process, they will be shown samples of good and flawed documents and instructors will elicit their critiques. In-class discussions will help students analyze components that make a document ⿝well-written⿝ or ⿿flawed⿝, which will assist them in the analysis of their own documents.

⿢ Students will be asked to revise their draft memos based on instructors⿿ feedback and submit revised copies with:
⿿ Description of what changed in the revised version.
⿿ Statement of why changes were made.
⿿ Request for feedback on what they think may need additional review.
Writing Support and Resources available to Students
⿢ Students will get a sample of each written document.
⿢ Instructors will be available for feedback and guidance.
⿢ A writing expert will do a presentation on Business Writing.
⿢ The Mathematics Library staff will present campus resources for effective writing.
⿢ Students will also be given information/links on the Writing Center.

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Question 6 (see CWB Requirement 6):

If teaching assistants will participate in writing assessment and writing instruction,
explain how will they be trained (e.g. in how to review, grade and respond to student writing) and how will
they be supervised. If the course is taught in multiple sections with multiple faculty (e.g. a capstone
directed studies course), explain how every faculty mentor will ensure that their students will receive
a writing intensive experience.

New:
Only the primary instructors will instruct and assess writing in this class.
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Provisional
Syllabus:

Please provide a provisional syllabus for new courses
and courses in which changes in content and/or description and/or credits are proposed that include the following information:
course goals and description; format/structure of the course (proposed number of instructor contact hours per week, student
workload effort per week, etc.); topics to be covered; scope and nature of assigned readings (texts, authors, frequency, amount
per week); required course assignments; nature of any student projects; and how students will be evaluated.

The University policy on credits is found under Section 4A of "Standards for Semester Conversion" at
http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/senate/documents/policy/semestercon.html .
Provisional course syllabus information will be
retained in this system until new syllabus information is entered with the next major course modification,
This provisional course syllabus information may not correspond to the course as offered in a particular semester.

Course Description and Goals: This course is designed to expose students to real world actuarial problems in a variety of actuarial segments, where they are required to integrate their mathematical skills with relevant knowledge from other disciplines such as economics, statistics and finance. The course's setting mimics business environments, where students learn a variety of problem solving techniques for uncertain scenarios, are presented with problems and are asked to make decisions or recommendations based on a series of assumptions. Students enhance their communication and interpersonal skills and develop teamwork and leadership by working in teams pre-set by the instructors. This course has a Writing Intensive curriculum. Students will focus on presentation techniques and clear communication of ideas by giving special attention to the quality of written reports and memos and oral presentation of project solutions, rationale and methodology.

Teams: Teams of four have been selected by the instructors. You will stay on the same team for the entire semester.

Attendance: Attendance in all class meetings is mandatory.

Course⿿s format and general schedule: There will be three modules; each will consist of a five-week actuarial project.

Week / module Activity Instructor
1 / module 1 ⿢ General overview of the course (30 min)
⿢ Introduction of Project 1 by guest actuaries (90 min)
⿢ Teams start setting up work on projects (30 min)
Assignment due next week (individual): Prepare a summary of your work on the project, to be shared with your teammates. Course⿿s Instructors

Assignment due next week (individual): Expand the summary of your work on the project, including any further information or analysis, and send the expanded Email Memo to your team/instructors. Course⿿s Instructors

⿢ In class teamwork while guest actuaries are present for assistance (90 min).

Assignment due next week (team and individual): Prepare (as a team) a draft of an outline for a PPT presentation or an Executive Summary to be submitted at the next class. State what team member is responsible for which part of the assignment. Sponsor Company⿿s guest actuaries for module 1.
4 / module 1 ⿢ Instructional session on writing Executive Summaries (30 min) and Power Point (PPT) presentations (30 min).

⿢ Students work on PPT presentations or Executive Summaries (90 min)

Assignment due next week (team and individual): PPT presentations and Executive Summaries are due next meeting. Course⿿s Instructors

⿢ In class teamwork while guest actuaries are present for assistance (90 min).

Assignment due next week (team and individual): Prepare (as a team) a draft of an outline for a PPT presentation or an Executive Summary to be submitted at the next class. State what team member is responsible for which part of the assignment. Sponsor Company⿿s guest actuaries for module 2.
9 / module 2 ⿢ Instructional session on writing: Additional Tips for Developing Strong PPT Presentations (30 min).

⿢ Students work on PPT presentations/Executive Summaries (120 min)

Assignment due next week (team and individual): PPT presentation and Executive summaries are due next meeting. Course⿿s Instructors

⿢ In class work while Instructors and guest actuaries are present for assistance (60 min).

⿢ Instructional session on Excel programming (60 minutes)

Assignment due next week (individual): Expand the summary of your project work, including any further information/analysis, and send the expanded Email Memo to your team/instructors. Course⿿s Instructors

⿢ In class teamwork while guest actuaries are present for assistance (90 min).

Assignment due next week (team and individual): Prepare (as a team) a draft of an outline for a PPT presentation or an Executive Summary to be submitted at the next class. State what team member is responsible for which part of the assignment. Sponsor Company⿿s guest actuaries
14 / module 3 ⿢ Instructional session on writing: Guest lecturer - Writing in a Business Environment (60 min).

⿢ Students work on PPT presentations or Executive reports (90 min)
Assignment due next week (team and individual): PPT presentation and Executive reports are due next meeting. Course⿿s Instructors
Guest Expert

Grading: 50% of your grade in all assignments will be based on the quantitative and analytical quality of your work and the other 50% will be based on the quality of the written and oral presention (group and individual).
Grading is determined by the following weights:
⿢ Email Memos (individual) - 3 ÿ10% = 30%
⿢ Presentation (team) - 10%
⿢ Presentation (individual ⿿ writing AND presentation) ⿿ 10%+10%=20%
⿢ Executive Summary (team) - 10%
⿢ Executive Summary (individual) - 20%
⿢ In class active participation - 5%
⿢ Peer evaluation by team members - 5%
Detailed information on the various components that are counted toward the grade:

⿢ Email Memos: During the second week of each of the modules each student will be required to write an Email Memo to their team, in which their findings to date will be summarized. For instance, if a student is responsible for doing research, he/she will need to outline the type of research done, all sources of the information and possible conclusions. Another student who is assigned to develop an Excel model will be responsible for explaining the assumptions of the model, the analysis done and the key model outcomes. The Email Memo should be 1-2 pages long, and should include figures, graphs and/or charts. In addition, attached documentation on research details should be used to back up the Memo⿿s contents. The Email Memo will be also submitted to the primary instructors for feedback, which will be given to students within a week. Students will be able to use this feedback in the revised and expanded version of the memo that will be due the 4th class of each module. In addition to instructor feedback, team members will benefit from each other⿿s feedback as a part of the normal communication process within the team.

⿢ Power Point Presentation: The teams will be given the chance to present the results of their projects before the ⿿project board⿝ consisting of the primary instructors and the instructing actuaries from the module⿿s sponsoring company. Students are expected to be a critical audience. In the PPT presentation, each team will be asked to outline the key elements of their project, including statement of the problem and a summary of research, modeling, analysis, key conclusions and recommendations relating to the problem. Each student is expected participate in the written preparation of the slides as well as in the oral presentation. The team will be required to submit an outline of the PPT presentation, stating the main communication goal of each slide, and the person on the team assigned to develop the slide. The outline is due the 4th week of the module. The presentation should be about 15 ⿿ 20 minutes long, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session. In addition, after each presentation there will be time for students and instructors to reflect and comment on the presentation.

⿢ Executive Summary: Each team that does not present during a module must to submit an Executive Summary that covers the main points of the research, analysis and final decision making / recommendation for the project. This should include the sources and reliability of data, working assumptions, model, analysis and results. The length of the Executive Summary should be no more than two pages but students may refer to supporting material, such as graphs, tables, or charts. All students in the team will participate in the preparation of the report, being responsible for a well-defined portion of the writing. On the 4th week of the module, teams will be required to submit an outline of the Executive Summary, stating what section each team member is responsible for writing.

⿢ In-class participation: Each class will have opportunities for students to participate, either by active interaction within teams, or by participation in the plenary class sessions. Active participation and involvement in class activities will grant 5% toward the final grade.

⿢ Peer evaluation: Students will get feedback from their teammates through peer evaluation surveys. This important feedback will give students insight on how they operate as part of a team and how their actions are viewed by their peers.

Course Description and Goals: This course is designed to expose students to real world actuarial problems in a variety of actuarial segments, where they are required to integrate their mathematical skills with relevant knowledge from other disciplines such as economics, statistics and finance. The course's setting mimics business environment, where students learn a variety of problem solving techniques for uncertain scenarios, are presented with problems and are asked to make decisions or recommendations based on a series of assumptions. Students enhance their communication and interpersonal skills and develop teamwork and leadership by working in teams preset by the instructors. In addition, students will focus on presentation techniques and clear communication of ideas by giving a special attention to the quality of written reports and oral presentation of project solutions, rationale and methodology.

⿢ Week 1 will be devoted to a general overview of the course, goals expectation from students, as well as a first tutorial to presentation. The teams will be set.
⿢ The general format of a three-week module:
Week 1: Overview of a specific actuarial segment (such as Life Insurance, Health insurance, Property Casualty, etc.) and a set up of the project by the visiting actuaries. Teams start working on projects - instructors and visiting actuaries are present in class for assistance/guidance, if needed.
Week 2: Team-work sessions with instructors and visiting actuaries.
Week 3: Teams work on presentations or reports / Four of the teams present to the instructors, instructing actuaries and students.
⿢ Week 7 will be devoted to enhancement of writing / presentation skills and sharpening analytical and computational modeling tools.
⿢ Week 15 will be devoted to a review of tools that have been used in class across the various projects, further discussions, feedback and evaluations.

Teams: 8 teams have been selected by the instructors. You will be on the same team for the entire semester.

Attendance: Attendance in all class meetings is mandatory and necessary to passing the class.

Written reports: During each module students will write different documents that describe and report the working process of their team. Each student will be responsible for one document each module and will be graded individually (10% per document).

Presentation: You will be given the chance to present the results of one of your projects before the "project board" consisting of the primary instructors and the instructing actuaries from the module's sponsoring company. The non-presenting students from all other teams are expected to be a critical audience. Your team is expected to develop a PowerPoint presentation to be given on the last class of a specific module. Each team will present twice during the course. The presentation should be 15 minutes long, with additional 5-7 minutes Q & A session. The presentation is evaluated as a team project (15% per presentation), and in addition each presenting student will be evaluated individually (10% per presentation).

Report: Each team that does not present during a module needs to submit a short report that summarizes the main course of final decision making / recommendation for the project, including the sources and reliability of data, working assumptions, model, analysis and results (5% per module that is not presented).

In-class participation: Each class will have opportunities for students to participate, either by active interaction within teams, or by participation in the plenary class sessions.

Peer evaluation: Students will get feedback from their teammates through peer evaluation. This important feedback will give students an insight on how they operate as part of a team and how their actions are viewed by their peers.